


Seamless

by BadWolf303, flootzavut



Series: Lie to NCIS [52]
Category: Lie to Me (TV), NCIS
Genre: Awesome Foursome, Crossover, F/F, GxK, Kate Lives, Kibbs, Lie to NCIS, Multi, Multi-shipping, RxG, RxK, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, foursomeverse, queer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 19:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13554135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWolf303/pseuds/BadWolf303, https://archiveofourown.org/users/flootzavut/pseuds/flootzavut
Summary: Gillian and co meet Doctor Kate's Sister.Crib notes for the fandom blindhere.





	Seamless

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine regular readers are sick to the back teeth of my crib notes, so I'll just reiterate that they're available [here](http://archiveofourown.org/series/334084) and say that Rachel Cranston is Kate's older sister, who was introduced at approximately this point (which is to say, during season 8/2011) in canon.
> 
> Actually a co-written effort this one, though BadWolf303 did the lion's share of it (♥️), and deserves most of the credit!

* * *

_**Seamless** _

* * *

 

Gillian recognizes Kate in the woman before she even opens her mouth, but the moment she does, Rachel feels like family.

"I'm looking for Agent Todd," she says, and before Gillian can hold out a hand and introduce herself, Kate is barreling in like a bullet and blocking the way.

"What are you doing here?" Kate practically accuses. Her eyes narrow, but there's a sparkle in them too. Gillian always pegged Kate as a family girl, even if she moved far away from them to pursue the career that was important to her.

Rachel has a smirk on her face as she delicately lifts one shoulder in a shrug. Gillian likes her already. "Was in the neighbourhood. I wanted to check in on my baby sister." She brushes Kate's hair back behind her ear in a well-worn gesture of affection.

Kate looks about the bullpen, her cheeks turning pink (no doubt embarrassed to be called anything close to 'baby' at work) and Gillian takes the opportunity to stick a hand out. "I'm Gillian Foster. A friend of Kate's."

"Oh, Dr Foster, I've heard all about you," Rachel says, taking her hand. Her grip is gentle but firm, and so very familiar, so very  _Kate_ , Gillian can't keep the smile off her face. "Katie's mentioned you on the phone, of course, but I'm familiar with your work, too."

Gillian is impressed. And now very curious. She gives Kate a sideways glance. "I can't say Kate's returned the favour."

Kate, of course, is beet red now. "My sister is a therapist," Kate mumbles, like a chastised child.

"Oh!" Gillian exclaims. "I'd love to hear about your work, too."

"I'll look forward to that," Rachel says with a smile. "In the meantime, I was hoping my baby sister would remember her manners and invite me to dinner so I could get to know her new boyfriend. Or was it new boss?" Rachel pauses dramatically, pretends to think about the mix up, then winks. "Perhaps both?"

Kate is fuming now, and Gillian can't help but laugh, even if that makes Kate look at her as if she's been betrayed. "I'll cook dinner at Gibbs' place tonight," Kate says. "You can meet him then."

"Care to join us, Dr Foster?" Rachel asks.

"No, she's probably too busy-"

"I'd love to," Gillian says at the same time, and then turns to Kate, who is pouting. "Mind if I bring Cal along?"

"Mind? Why would I mind?" Kate forces out through clenched teeth.

"Worried I'll tell them all about how for an entire year mom could barely get you to keep your shirt on, since you were so desperate to prove to the boys you were just the same as them?" Rachel asks sweetly.

"I cannot wait to hear all the stories you've got," Gillian says.

"I hate both of you," Kate says.

Gillian presses a kiss to Kate's cheek without thinking about where they are or who's watching until it's too late. She hopes she plays it off as friendly more than anything else. Both she and Kate startle, though, in a way that Gillian knows anyone from the Lightman Group would absolutely notice. She hopes Rachel's not that good.

But then she catches Rachel's eye, and it looks like Rachel might be exactly that good after all.

* * *

Rachel keeps both Gibbs and Cal on their toes. Gibbs wouldn't admit it, but Gillian can see how much Rachel's approval matters to him. He's both the hard Marine and the soft gentleman Gillian has come to know and love; he's on his best behaviour, but he's also himself. He gives as much as Rachel does, and in return she takes as much as she expects him to.

Kate's face has been pink but bright the whole night. She wouldn't admit it either, but it's important to her too. She and Rachel may not have been in each other's life much as adults, but it's obvious they have a closeness and a rhythm to how they relate. They love one another, and they fit together like complementary puzzle pieces. It fills Gillian with an affection so sharp it hurts.

Cal, of course, is being the lovable brat he is, but Rachel effortlessly keeps up with him. She turns the tables on him not once, not twice, but  _three_  times with a question that makes his ears go red and the jokes stop immediately on his tongue. Gillian thinks Rachel would mother and smother the hell out of Cal given the chance, just like she mothers and smothers Kate. She's clearly delighted with all of them, happily enjoying her sister's found family with no trace of jealousy for their closeness.

Gillian loves it. Loves  _her_. And by the end of the meal she has to excuse herself to get some air because part of her feels like she imagines Gibbs must. She wants to make a good impression; she wants Rachel's acceptance. She wants Rachel to fit in, to feel like family, and she already does, because Kate is family, damn it. It's hard for Gillian to understand (or maybe just to come to terms with) Kate's place in her heart. It's hard to pretend she's okay when it seems like every crack in her composure is showing, will be painfully evident to Kate's all-too-observant sister. It's hard to be satisfied with how things are, even when how things are is wonderful, when Gillian can't help wanting more, and she's sure it shows.

The door opens and Gillian turns from her spot sitting on the front stoop to see Rachel emerge with two wine glasses. She hands one to Gillian, who takes it with a smile. "Saw you escape out here. Thought I'd join you."

Gillian laughs. "I'm not the someone you can mother," she warns.

Rachel shrugs and grins. "Not a chance. Just wanted a chat, colleague to colleague." Her gaze sparkles with mischief but her smile is kind.

"What about?" Gillian asks, though she can guess at least part of it.

"I haven't told Kate yet, but I might be taking a job with NCIS. Sort of an in-house therapist they can bring in when a case gets a little too..." She trails off, but Gillian understands anyway. "I've been angling for this job since Ari Haswari."

Gillian frowns. The name sounds vaguely familiar. "Who?"

Rachel's eyes grow dark, in that fierce way that reminds Gillian so much of her sister. Rachel's obvious anger, that reaction, the resemblance to Kate, brings a memory to the surface, and Gillian lets out a quiet 'Oh,' as understanding dawns. She doesn't know a lot, but she knows some.

Rachel nods sharply, her jaw tense, her hands tightening momentarily into fists. Gillian makes a mental note that she needs to go read up on this Ari Haswari person. Anyone significant enough to get Kate's sister so riled up is someone Gillian needs to know more about.

"Kate would love having you close," she says, when nothing else is forthcoming, not wanting their conversation to be completely derailed.

Rachel smiles, relaxing again. "I hope so. Kate was always so...  _little_ when we were growing up together. And with all the boys between us, oy; I love my brothers but..." She shakes her head. "Being the oldest of that many kids, sometimes I felt more like Kate's mother. It would be nice to be local more often, now that we're both adults, now that she's settled, so I can finally get to know her as a sister."

"Well, as someone who considers Kate a very dear friend, I can tell you she's one of the best people I know."

Rachel's eyes - so like Kate's, so familiar already - only linger on Gillian's for a moment, but it's a moment too long. Gillian feels hot, takes solace in her glass as she sips her wine and looks down at her toes.

"Gillian," Rachel says. Her voice is full of understanding. She sees much too much.

Gillian just shakes her head.

"Gillian," Rachel says again.

She figures Rachel could get a job with Lightman, if she really wanted to. "You weren't supposed to see any of that," she says. She hopes Rachel knows exactly what 'that' means, hopes she won't have to actually explain how she's feeling.

"But now that I have?" Rachel asks.

"Even if I knew... you know I couldn't tell you a thing." Gillian sighs. "Anyway, it doesn't matter-"

"Looked like it mattered to me. Are you in love with her?"

It's blunt and open and Gillian cannot think of a lie fast enough. She cannot get her mouth to work fast enough.

"I saw how she looked at you. How you looked at her." Rachel pauses, and shakes her head with a little laugh. "How Cal looked at everyone."

Gillian turns her face away.  _Oh, God_.

She doesn't know what to say. Doesn't know where to start. Doesn't know if any of the three inside have the self-awareness she does. If any of them realise what's happening beteeen them, if they dream at night that this is possible, that the feelings run deep enough to make this work.

She really, really hopes she's not alone.

She's not entirely sure it matters, though, if she's not.

Rachel puts her wine glass down, and takes the empty one from Gillian, then wraps an arm around Gillian's shoulder, and for a moment Gillian lets herself think about Kate, sassy and small, being comforted the same way, and lets her head rest against Rachel's.

"Whatever 'this' is," Rachel says. "Whatever happens. You do not hurt her."

"Kate makes up her own mind," Gillian says.

"She very much does," Rachel says. "But she's still my little sister. She has a big heart, Gillian. She loves and falls hard. Be careful. But..."

Gillian looks up into those big brown eyes and sees Kate in them, and loves them, can't help it. "But?"

Rachel gives a shrug. "You're a shrink. You must know how seamlessly you all fit together."

For few seconds, Gillian's confused. Does that mean Rachel is giving her blessing? She wants to ask. She wants to beg Rachel to tell her it's okay to want, to hope.

Only she can't find the words.

And then Kate is opening the door, and asking them both to come back inside, to 'stop gossiping about me, it's embarrassing, Rachel!'

They go inside. Every time Rachel looks at her the rest of the evening, Gillian feels her cheeks grow warm.

But she looks at the other three - her friends, her  _family_  - and she knows Rachel's right. They do fit together seamlessly. And it makes her heart sing. And it makes her heart hurt. And it makes everything that much more uncertain.

_~ fin ~_


End file.
